Shepherd's Pie!

What is its place in the world? It's both a weekday staple and weekend treat. A home freezer meal-for-one and a winter party crowd pleaser. Summer with salad (lettuce cucumber tomato - not fancy) or winter with veg (boiled potatoes to go with the mash? And always peas). Instantly recognisable but ever changing.

Shepherd's pie is a national favourite in Britain, classically made with minced lamb. Somewhere in history it became commonplace to use beef mince instead, which in all accuracy makes it a 'Cottage Pie'. To anyone but a pedant or a purist the two are completely interchangeable in name and base.

Like a lot of things, it's not easy to get right. Given that it changes form in every cook's hands, care is needed that the texture isn't too firm or too wet. It shouldn't be dry but a good result will hold its rectangular shape as it comes from the baking dish on a fish-slice.

In our house it has evolved a little over the years. For many years it had Mediterranean flavour and was heavy with dried herbs from the jar. In fact for a while in the late nineties the ragu mix was so similar that we even called it 'Shepherds Bolognaise'. Luckily we caught it just before it was too late and got it back on track. These days, like our spag bol, it no longer has tomato puree added and our shepherd's pie base flavour is now more closely aligned with a pastie filling. Heavily seasoned with salt and pepper, sometimes a little Worcestershire sauce, still a small amount of dried herbs. Its quality is plain enough to allow the meat-veg-potato profile to excel but never is bland.

Our choice of vegetables is now based on a soffrito of onion, carrot and celery. The three cook together and mingle to make a base where none of them keeps its identity but together add texture taste and colour. You can vary it. The addition of peas towards the end of the cooking before assembly gives a bright finish but isn't absolutely mandatory (as it is with our Bolognaise!).

Ingredients for four people.

4 x very large floury potatoes. Bakers are best.

75g salted butter

500g beef mince

2 X large carrots peeled

1 X large onion

2 X sticks celery

400ml beef stock (from cube etc)

200g frozen peas (optional)

Salt

Black and white pepper

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp dried mixed herbs

Oil for frying

Method.

Peel the potatoes and cut into quarters. Barely cover with water and bring to the boil then carefully simmer for 15-20 minutes until they are easily pushed through with the point of a kitchen knife. Don't let them boil over because it's a mess. When cooked, drain and mash with the butter. Season well with salt and a bit too much white pepper.

Leave the potatoes to cool while you make the ragu.

Chop the onion, carrot and celery into dice of the same size. You have to judge the size of the dice by how coarsely minced your meat is. For ordinary coarse-ground beef chop the veg about 8mm cubes. For finely ground beef make them 4-5mm.

Saute the veg mixture in some oil until the onion is soft but not coloured. Empty the pan onto a plate and brown the beef in what's left of the veg flavoured oil.

Return the beef to the pan and mix well. Add Worcestershire and herbs. Add the stock and stir well. If you are going to add tomato puree, now is the time. A heaped tablespoon will help to thicken and round out the flavour.  Now add a little salt and black pepper, stir again and simmer for 25-30 minutes until well combined.

Assembling the pie is easier with warm ingredients so let the mixture cool a little before pouring into a baking dish.

Arrange the mash in a layer on top. Some people will pipe it on using an icing bag but any way will work. It really depends if you want dead-eyed perfection or rustic effect. You should bear in mind the crispening effect of baking though. Decide if you want browned crispy peaks or flat golden finish. Me? I usually fork the mash over and make swirly lines that catch the heat of the oven.

Bake in an oven on 200c for 15-20 minutes until nicely browned. You should see the base mixture bubbling. Personally I am not beyond a final flourish under a hot grill right at the end for extra crispy potato effect.

This is quite dangerously hot when it comes from the oven so do let it cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving. Maybe with some more frozen peas in butter and fresh black pepper.